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Owings resident Moshe Michael Imel, 53, a former assistant football coach at a Calvert County high school, will spend decades behind bars after pleading guilty to taking advantage of his position to terrorize some of his players, federal prosecutors announced.
According to his plea agreement, in March 2021, two victims came forward to report that beginning when Imel coached them in a youth football program, and continuing through high school, he groomed and then sexually abused them.
Specifically, Imel admitted that he directed each minor to expose and touch himself in a sexual way and ultimately engaged in sexual contact with them on multiple occasions.
He also created sexually explicit videos of the victims documenting his abuse, which were later recovered by investigators.
During the investigation, a search warrant was executed at Imel’s Maryland home, where they found a basement ripped out of a "To Catch a Predator" special that matched the description of that provided by the young victims.
Prosecutors said that the basement included action figures lining the walls, a computer setup, multiple cameras, sex toys, and other paraphernalia.
A subsequent review of 14 electronic devices seized at Imel’s home also led to the discovery of child porn or evidence of his sexual abuse with minors on each.
He has been detained since.
Imel pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography involving two minor victims.
As part of his plea agreement to the federal charges, Imel also agreed to plead guilty to charges related to the sexual abuse of minors in three cases in Calvert County, which is scheduled for May.
If the court agrees to his plea, Imel will be sentenced to between 25 and 40 years in federal prison for the production of child pornography. He will be sentenced on the state case following that sentencing in August.
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